H1Foreign Policy The Age of Disorganization Don't assume that the rise of new powers will lead to a new world order. The era of U.S. hegemony could be followed by a period of chaotic "nonpolarity" instead. BY IAN BREMMER & FLYNT LEVERETT

“It would be naive to say that Iraq’s future is certain to be a peaceful one,” says Nir Rosen, “but the war between Sunnis and Shiites is now over”... more»

Brzezinski talks Afghan, Iranian policy (UPI) -- The American approach toward counter-terrorism in Afghanistan and diplomatic ties with Iran is based on a comprehensive strategy, Zbigniew Brzezinski said.

·Allies Copy U.S. Navy Smart-Power Strategy BY: David Axe | World Politics ReviewSmart power, previously known as soft power, emerged during the bloodiest years of the Iraq war, as the Bush administration looked for ways to prevent another "trillion-dollar war," to use defense-industry analyst James McAleese's phrase. "Ultimate success or failure will increasingly depend more on shaping the behavior of others -- friends and adversaries, and most importantly, the people in between," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.

Asia Times US promotes Iran in energy market Washington, under a new energy czar, is leaving no option unexplored. This includes touting the benefits of Iranian involvement in a 3,300 kilometer-long pipeline from the Caspian via Turkey to Austria that would reduce the European Union's growing dependence on Russian energy. Evidently, Iran anticipated the inevitability of such a shift in US thinking. - M K Bhadrakumar

The New War in Dagestan BY: Samantha Brtleich | Diplomatic Courier Despite the failing of Chechen rebels to implicate Dagestan—who has no desire to secede—in their plot to drive out the Russians, Dagestan might fall and allow for a Muslim or warfare-like republic to emerge.

WSJ Three Killed in Istanbul Shootout A five-hour police shootout with a leftist militant in Istanbul left three people dead, including the militant described as a top member of a group tied to the Kurdish separatist PKK.

·Clinton Says Moderation Is Lebanon’s Best Hope BY: Mark Landler | The New York Times Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton touched down in Lebanon on Sunday for a lightning visit to express support for this fragile country, six weeks before crucial parliamentary elections in which the Islamic militant group Hezbollah is expected to make significant gains.

White House miscalculations linger On the surface, the administration of United States President Barack Obama appears keen to engage Iran, yet it still clings to the idea that crippling economic measures or military strikes will force Tehran to reverse its nuclear program. This simply won't work. - Shahir Shahidsaless

The Purpose of Engaging Iran - Tony Blair (Office of Tony Blair) Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the Chicago Council on Global Affairs

IRAN: Spiegel reports that Iranian businessmen are hoping that eased tensions between the United States and Iran might lead to a loosening of economic sanctions and increased business between the two countries.

Three US Issues, Five Iranian OnesWalid Choucair - There are reports and information about the US-Iranian negotiations now underway under the table, at the level of experts, somewhere in Europe. The talks, which are designed to feel out Iran's intentions, began even before the new US President Barack Obama took office in January. The reports indicate that they are a prelude to an opening that should take place following Iran's presidential elections in June.

UAE-FRANCE: The French military will use a new base in the United Arab Emirates' Port Zayed to fight piracy in the Gulf of Aden. The UAE is unlikely to send its own naval vessels on antipiracy activities (The National).

Segregation of the sexes in schools and universities has become a crucial issue in the country’s developing political struggle between liberals and Islamists

Google aims for bigger Arab audience The Middle East lags behind in terms of internet usage, but the US company is providing products in Arabic in an attempt to lure more businesses and individuals online

-- A delegation of election monitors with the European Union left for Lebanon to observe the June 7 parliamentary vote.

Lawmaker claims support for Ahmadinejad(UPI) -- Iranian parliamentarians in the Principlist camp threw their support behind President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the June presidential contest, a lawmaker said.

Sixty one years in the speech bubble This is the only country in the world which is at war every seven years, which replaces its government every two years. A country full of life, yet restless and stronger than its leaders.

Israel time, 5769 Last year, Israel marked its 60th anniversary with great pomp. Perhaps now the time is ripe to let go of the euphoria over the country's very existence, the flip side of existential fear.

BY: Vita Bekker | The National Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s new far-right foreign minister, stirred up fresh controversy over the weekend after stating that Syria was not a peace partner and warning the country’s northern neighbour that no talks would be conducted until it backed down from demanding the return of the Golan Heights

Israel has taken a step towards expanding the largest settlement in the West Bank, a move Palestinians warn will leave their future state unviable and further isolate its future capital, East Jerusalem.

The Obama administration is seeking changes to U.S. law that would allow it to send aid to the Palestinian Authority even if members of Hamas become part of a unity Palestinian government. Hamas is designated a terrorist organization and under law may not receive U.S. aid (LAT).

BY: Joshua Kucera | Eurasianet This decade, Pakistan has been one of the largest recipients of US military aid in the world, receiving almost $12 billion. Yet the security situation there continues to spiral downward.

BY: Stanley A. Weiss | The Boston Globe President Obama has pledged that deepening ties with India is a priority, and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said he was confident "that we'll take this relationship forward rapidly." But behind the platitudes, New Delhi is nervous.

PAKISTAN: As militancy grows in Pakistan, U.S. officials are increasingly concerned about the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons. RFE/RL reports that the military controls the country's nuclear stockpile, so any scenario that changes the balance of power in the military—from a coup to a Taliban takeover—could endanger the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons.

·Pakistan Goes Its Own Pace on Militants BY: Syed Saleem Shahzad | Asia Times Despite violations -- the most recent being in the Swat area this weekend -- Pakistan is adamant it will stick to its counter-insurgency policy of making selected peace deals in the tribal areas, and it will not be drawn into any major United States-inspired grand campaigns.

David Petraeus might be forgiven for comparing himself with Ulysses S. Grant, the general to whom Lincoln, after finding so many generals wanting, finally turned to get the Civil War won. (By H.D.S. Greenway, Boston Globe)

Pakistan goes its own pace on militantsDespite violations - the most recent being in the Swat area this weekend - Pakistan is adamant it will stick to its counter-insurgency policy of making selected peace deals in the tribal areas, and it will not be drawn into any major United States-inspired grand campaigns. - Syed Saleem Shahzad

Economic links have always been an important basis for the China-U.S. relationship, and the growth in trade between the two countries has been robust since the establishment of normal diplomatic relations.

BY: Jonathan Holslag | The Japan Times The failure of the U.N. Security Council to pass a new resolution after North Korea's rocket test highlights the fact that power politics will prevail over pledges for effective multilateralism.

BY: Woeser | The Wall Street Journal Before dawn on the morning of May 18, 2008, the authorities cut off all forms of communications in the small rural town -- telephones, mobile phones, the Internet and even roads in and around the area

The Economist To mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, Chinese leaders reviewed a maritime parade of hardware ranging from nuclear submarines to amphibious assault-craft and fighter bombers. The only missing ingredient of naval might was an aircraft-carrier. Officials hint it will not be long before China has some of these too.

Commentary: Is Pakistan another Iran? (UPI) -- Politics as usual in Islamabad seemed strangely irrelevant as formations of the Taliban’s religious-extremist insurgents gnawed at Pakistan’s body politic -- and advanced to within 60 miles of the capital, where the pro-Taliban Red Mosque was back in business.

It is a Taiwan that is gingerly coming to terms with what seems like an inexorably tightening mainland grip. Sunday, the two signed three new agreements on financial services, direct flights and criminal control.

BY: Elitsa Vucheva | EU Observer Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha has said that his country would officially apply for EU membership on Tuesday, but accession is not expected for several years to come.

·The New War in Dagestan BY: Samantha Brtleich | Diplomatic Courier Despite the failing of Chechen rebels to implicate Dagestan—who has no desire to secede—in their plot to drive out the Russians, Dagestan might fall and allow for a Muslim or warfare-like republic to emerge.

Nuclear disarmament has emerged as the first issue to reset U.S.-Russian relations in 2009. Both sides have expressed a willingness to negotiate a new strategic arms reduction treaty to replace the START I treaty that is set to expire in December.

GM outlined a new turnaround plan that would leave the U.S. government controlling the auto maker, as it set up a showdown with bondholders that could determine whether the troubled American icon lands in bankruptcy court.

IZA This 51-page discussion paper investigates the "threshold" levels of financial and institutional development that an economy needs to attain before it can derive the indirect benefits of international financial integration and reduce the risks of financial openness

In authorities’ response to the swine flu outbreak it is essential to avoid public panic and overreaction, which could do more harm than the disease itself

The end of the Thatcher era One of Mrs Thatcher’s most famous phrases was: ‘There is no alternative.’ As yet, no major political figure in Britain or the western world has really articulated a coherent alternative to the free-market principles inherited from Thatcherism. Until that happens, the Thatcher era will not be definitively over, writes Gideon Rachman

100 days: Obama dumps Bush's world view, but now what? The "Axis of Evil" is gone. The "global war on terrorism" is no more. "You are either with us or against us" is a thing of the past, replaced by reaching out to global foes and friends alike. Obama has reached out to more U.S. adversaries in a shorter time than perhaps any modern occupant of the Oval Office. But none of the problems that Obama inherited on Jan. 20 has gotten any better.

Smart power, previously known as soft power, emerged during the bloodiest years of the Iraq war, as the Bush administration looked for ways to prevent another "trillion-dollar war," to use defense-industry analyst James McAleese's phrase. "Ultimate success or failure will increasingly depend more on shaping the behavior of others -- friends and adversaries, and most importantly, the people in between," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.

David Petraeus might be forgiven for comparing himself with Ulysses S. Grant, the general to whom Lincoln, after finding so many generals wanting, finally turned to get the Civil War won. (By H.D.S. Greenway, Boston Globe)

H21Why so many Americans switch religions A new Pew survey suggests that many Catholics leave their church because of doctrine, whereas Protestants tend to leave because of life changes such as marriage.

From TNR, a review of Franz Kafka: The Office Writings (and more from Bookforum).

Friedrich Engels was a scion of the 19th-century Manchester “cottonocracy,” yet hoped for the British economy’s collapse... more»

From NYRB, Andrew Delbanco reviewsPioneering Portfolio Management: An Unconventional Approach to Institutional Investment by David F. Swensen, Tearing Down the Gates: Confronting the Class Divide in American Education by Peter Sacks, and Creating a Class: College Admissions and the Education of Elites by Mitchell L. Stevens;

a review of Who Owns Antiquity? Museums and the Battle Over Our Ancient Heritage and Whose Culture? The Promise of Museums and the Debate Over Antiquities by James Cuno

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